Doctors advised unplugging Mandela's life support

Nelson Mandela waves to the media as he arrives outside No 10 Downing Street in central London, on August 28, 2007. Doctors treating Mandela said that he was in a "permanent vegetative state" and advised his family to turn off his life support machine, according to court documents dated June 26, obtained by AFP.
(AFP/File)

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) – Doctors treating Nelson Mandela said that he was in a "permanent vegetative state" and advised his family to turn off his life support machine, according to court documents dated June 26, obtained by AFP Thursday.

"He is in a permanent vegetative state and is assisted in breathing by a life support machine," said a legal filing related to a family dispute over reburying the remains of Mandela's three children. "The Mandela family have been advised by the medical practitioners that his life support machine should be switched off."